Down five runs late, the North Siders snapped a brutal skid as seven unlikely hitters combined for a ninth-inning rally unseen in over half a century.
Thursday’s comeback win might be exactly what the Chicago Cubs needed.
The Cubs entered Thursday’s series finale against the Athletics with a .217 win percentage since May 9. They had lost 18 of their last 23 games and were looking to avoid being swept for the third straight series at home.
Things did not look great for Chicago in the late innings of this game. The team trailed 6-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning and then 6-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning. All signs pointed to the Cubs being swept yet again.
But the North Siders stormed all the way back in the ninth inning to defeat the Athletics by a score of 7-6. They got some timely hits from several players, and Pete Crow-Armstrong eventually walked it off on a two-out RBI single.
Here’s how that ninth inning played out:
Michael Busch double
Alex Bregman fly out
Ian Happ RBI double (6-4)
Nico Hoerner single
Hoerner caught stealing
Moises Ballesteros RBI single (6-5)
Seiya Suzuki single
Dansby Swanson RBI single (6-6)
Pete Crow-Armstrong RBI single (7-6)
This type of comeback is exactly what a struggling ballclub needed. The offense hadn’t produced much at the plate recently, and there were some concerns about Chicago’s lack of hitting with runners in scoring position.
However, the Cubs locked in and had their best win of the season. They also made some history in the process.
The Cubs are the first team in 50 years to have seven different players come into an inning batting .250 or worse tally hits in the bottom of the ninth inning in the same game, according to OptaSTATS.
Busch (.242), Happ (.233), Hoerner (.250), Ballesteros (.231), Suzuki (.239), Swanson (.180), and Crow-Armstrong (.242) all had a .250 batting average or worse when they stepped up to the plate, and each of them had key hits in the inning.
Winning in dramatic fashion in Thursday’s series finale couldn’t come at a better time. The North Siders have been reeling lately and will now play a stretch of 12 straight games against the two worst teams in the National League.
The Cubs will host the Giants for three games at Wrigley Field beginning on Friday afternoon, then head out west to play three games against the Rockies and three against the Giants before returning home to face the Rockies.
Chicago has some ground to make up in the National League Central standings, as the team currently sits 5 ½ games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. But wins like Thursday could really get this group going now.
And it’s always cool to make some MLB history.
